Elevator boot attachment



NOV. 22, 1949 l, H, LEHMAN 2,488,671

ELEVATOR BOOT ATTACHMENT Filed Feb. 13, 1948 Patented Nov. 22, 1949UNITED STATES 5 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in an attachment for elevatorboots and refers particularly to a device which may be employed with theconventional bucket elevator boot whereby when desired the boot may becompletely cleaned or cleared of material which may be handled by theelevator, whereas during normal operation of the elevator the deviceremains inactive.

In the usual bucket elevator of the type used to raise discretematerials such as grain or the like, the boot or lower section thereof,that is, the porti-on in which the material is charged to the elevator,is so constructed and proportioned that considerable space is providedbetween the bottom of the boot and the path of travel of the edges ofthe buckets'carried by the elevator belt. The reason for providing suchspace 'n twofold, namely, to insure that 'an ample supply of materialmay be available so as to completely ll the buckets as they pass throughthe boot, and secondly, so that the bucket edges will not, during normaloperation of the device, rub upon the bottom of the boo-t or jammaterial against said bottom thereby, in either case', causing unduewear upon the buckets and boot bottom, consuming an excessive amount ofpower in operation of the elevator and causing undue tension and Wearupon the elevator or conveyor belt.

However, it is desirable, particularly Where an elevator is used tosuccessively carry materials of different kinds or where materialscarried by the elevator may be subject to deterioration or decay onstanding, to completely remove the material which may be disposedbetween the boot bottom and the buckets, material which the buckets arenormally incapable of removing.

As a feature of my invention I provide a device which may beconveniently .added to the usual elevator boot which permits,asvoccasion demands, the convenient removal of material carried by theboot by means of the elevator buckets, material, that is, which normallycould not be removed by the buckets.

.Briefly described, my invention Y.comprises a relatively ilexible platewhich may be secured at one end to the interior wall of the boot, theopposite end thereof extendingthrough an Opening provided in the bootwall at approximately the opposite diametral side` of the elevator lowerpulley. The plate conforms generally to the path of travel of theelevator buckets and normally vis spaced from the lower edges of saidbuckets as they pass -around the lower pulley. Means is providedexteriorly of the boot Af orexerting tension upon thev protruding edge.ofthe plate to` move the elevator.

2 plate upwardly toward the path of travel of the buckets whereby theresidual material carried by the plate is moved into the path oi travelof the elevator buckets. In this manner the residual material, normallycarried on the boot bottolnis carried by the plate to a position wherebyit may be removed by the buckets.

Other features of my invention will be apparent `from the accompanyingdrawing and following detailed description.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a detailed sectional View of an elevator bootprovided with a device embodying the concepts of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a detailed side elevational view of the device illustrated inFig. 1.

Referring in detail to the drawing, l indicates the lower portion of anelevator of the type which is adapted to handle discrete material suchas grain or the like. The elevator l comprises a housing 2, referred togenerally as an elevator boot, and two conduits 3 and ll which connectinto the housing 2. A pulley 5 is rotatably positioned upon Aa shaft 6which is mounted in the housing 2, the pulley 5 comprising the lowerpulley -of the An endless conveyor belt or chain l is trained around thepulley '5 and carries a plurality of buckets S, said buckets protrudingfrom the surface of the conveyor 1 and being disposed in spacedrelationship with respect to each other. A charging opening S isprovided at one side of the housing 2 whereby material to be raised bythe elevator may be charged to the boot or housing 2.

The elevator hereinabove described is of conventional construction and aspace Ill is normally provided between the path of travel of the loweredges of the buckets ,3 and the bottom ll of the boot ,2. As has beenhereinbefore described, this space is so provided that an ample supplyof material to be raised can be charged to the boot also so that theedges of the buckets 8 in passing around the lower portion of the pulley5 will not rub against the bottom of the housing 2. However, as has beenhereinbefore described, vele,-

vators of this type are Vfrequently used to r-aise of diierentcharacteristics, that is, materials which it would be undesirable tomix. For instance, in actual operation, the elevator l may be employedfor a predetermined period of time to raise corn. Subsequently it may bedesired to raise wheat by means of the elevator.

lt can readily be seen that after the elevator has been employed toraise the a quantity of said corn will remain at the bottom of the bootand cannot normally be removed by means of the buckets 8. If the wheatwere then charged to the elevator the agitation produced in the boot 2would tend to mix the corn with the wheat and, hence, for a period oftime, the grain raised by the buckets 8 would comprise wheat mixed withpredetermined amounts of corn. Obviously, therefore, it is desirablethat some convenient means be provided for removing the residualmaterial from the boot bottom II and it is to this end to which myinvention is directed.

As a feature of my invention, a relatively ilexible plate I 2 isanchored at one end upon an inner wall of the boot 2, the means ofanchorage preferably comprising a pivotally mounted rod I3 carried bybrackets I4. The plate I2 may comprise a relatively thin sheet of metalor may comprise a reinforced rubber sheet, in either case the plate issufllclently iiexible to occupy a position within the boot whichgenerally conforms with the curvature of the path of travel of thebuckets 8 around the pulley 5.

The opposite wall of the boot 2 is provided with an opening I5 throughwhich the opposite end of the plate I2 extends. A bracket I6 is mountedupon the outer wall of conduit Il by means of bolts I'I or the like. Alever I8 is pivotally mounted upon the bracket I6 and is connected toone end to a link I9. The opposite end of the link I9 is connected tospreaders 20 which in turn are pivotally connected, as at 2|, to the endof the plate I2 which extends exteriorly of the boot 2.

The plate I2, during the normal operation of the elevator is positioned,as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, that is, it is disposed in asubstantially arcuate position adjacent the bottom of the boot 2 andspaced from the path of travel of the buckets 8. The plate I2 is of awidth substantially equal to the width of the boot 2 whereby said plateeffectively forms a bottom for the boot. After a predetermined materialhas been charged to the elevator and substantially all of said materialhas been raised by the elevator, the lever I8, which normally occupiesthe position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, is rocked about its pivotpoint to substantially the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. l. Inthis fashion the protruding end of the relatively flexible plate I2pulled upwardly until the upper surface of said plate occupies aposition as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The lever I8 is rockedwhile the elevator is in operation and, hence, the residual materialcarried upon the upper surface of the plate I2 is moved upwardly intothe path of travel of the buckets 8 and is thereby removed by saidbuckets. In view of the fact that the residual material constitutes onlythat material which remains between the normal path of travel of thebuckets and the normal position of the plate I2, a few rotations of thepulley 5 will suiiice to remove said residual material. Consequently,the period of wear upon the bucket edges and upon the surface of theplate I2 is substantially negligible, since as soon as said residualmaterial is removed, the lever I8 is permitted to assume its normalposition, the plate I2 moving by gravity to the position shown in fulllines in Fig. 1.

The point of anchorage of the plate I2 is substantially diametricallyopposite with respect to pulley 5 from the opening I5. In addition, thepoint of anchorage is adjacent that side of the pulley 5 where theconveyor leaves the pulley and the opening I 5 is located adjacent thatpoint o! the pulley 5 where the conveyor 'l initially rides upon thepulley surface. To reduce friction in the tensioning of the plate I2,that is, to facilitate the rocking of the lever I8, a roller 22 ispositioned adjacent the upper edge of the opening I5 whereupon theprotruding portion of the plate I2 rides during the rocking of the leverI8.

It can readily be seen that my invention may be conveniently employedwith the usual elevator comprising a minimum of modifications of theexisting structure. The device is simple in its operation and ischaracterized by the fact that it does not cause undue wear upon thebuckets 8, conveyor belt l, or upon the plate I2 since it is moved tooperative position only for a short period of time and during normaloperation of the elevator it is spaced from the path of travel of thebuckets. Modifications of my invention may suggest themselves to thoseskilled in the art and hence, I do not wish to be limited except asnecessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A device, for operation in conjunction with an elevator boot of thetype comprising a housing, a pulley rotatably mounted in said housing,an endless conveyor trained around said pulley and buckets carried bysaid conveyor, said buckets being spaced from the bottom of the housingin the passage of the conveyor around said pulley, which comprises aflexible plate positioned in said housing and being anchored at one endto an inner wall of the housing, the opposite wall of said housing beingprovided with an opening through which the opposite end of said plateextends, and

'- means positioned exteriorly of said housing to tension said plate andmove the same into contact with the buckets in said housing as thebuckets pass around said pulley.

2. A device, for operation in conjunction with an elevator boot of thetype comprising a housing, a pulley rotatably mounted in said housing,an endless conveyor trained around said pulley and buckets carried bysaid conveyor, said buckets being spaced from the bottom of the housingin the passage of the conveyor around said pulley, which comprises aflexible plate positioned in said housing, said plate beingsubstantially equal in width to the width of said housing and beinganchored at one end to an inner wall of the housing, the opposite wallof said housing being provided with an opening through which theopposite end of said plate extends, and means positioned exteriorly ofsaid housing to tension said plate and move the same into contact withthe buckets in said housing as the buckets pass around said pulley.

3. A device, for operation in conjunction with an elevator boot of thetype comprising a housing, a pulley rotatably mounted in said housing,an endless conveyor trained around said pulley and buckets carried bysaid conveyor, said buckets being spaced from the bottom of the housingin the passage of the conveyor around said pulley, which comprises aflexible plate positioned in said housing and being anchored at one endto an inner wall of housing, the surface of said plate being normallyspaced from and beneath the path of travel of said buckets around saidpulley, the opposite wall of said housing being provided with an openingthrough which the opposite end of said plate extends, and meanspositioned exteriorly of said housing to tension said plate and move thesame into contact with the buckets in said housing as the buckets passaround said pulley.

4. In combination with an elevator boot comprising a housing, a pulleyrotatably mounted in said housing, an endless conveyor trained aroundsaid pulley, and buckets carried by said conveyor, said buckets beingspaced from the bottom of the housing in the passage of the conveyoraround the pulley, of a relatively flexible plate positioned in saidhousing, means for anchoring said plate on the inner Wall of saidhousing adjacent the position where the conveyor leaves said pulley, theopposite wall of said housing being provided with an opening adjacentthe position where the conveyor initially rides upon said pulley, theopposite end of said plate extending through said opening, and meanspositioned exteriorly of said housing for tensioning said plate to movethe same into contact with the buckets in said housing as the bucketspass around said pulley.

5. In combination with an elevator boot comprising a housing, a pulleyrotatably mounted in said housing, an endless conveyor trained aroundsaid pulley, and buckets carried by said conveyor,

i said buckets being spaced from the bottom of the housing in thepassage of the conveyor around the pulley, of a relatively flexibleplate positioned in said housing, means for anchoring said plate on theinner wall of said housing adjacent the position where the conveyorleaves said pulley, the opposite Wall of said housing being providedwith an opening adjacent the position where the conveyor initially ridesupon said pulley, the surface of said plate being normally beneath andspaced from the path of travel of said buckets around said pulley, theopposite end of said plate extending through said opening, and meanspositioned exteriorly of said housing for tensioning said plate to movethe same into contact with the buckets in said housing as the bucketspass around said pulley.

IRVIN H. LEHMAN.

No references cited.

